TRacer

I chuckled when I saw this...SCV played DEGs BITD, and I remember breaking most of the welds on the braces my last year just from horn snaps, not from grounding the horn at retreat...thank heavens for duct tape! EDIT: shameless plug for change of avatar to "manly" pic with my K-70. "arr!"

Back in 2005 I obtained an old Freelancers K-70 euph (complete with dings & dents from their buckles) and have been using it ever since on lead parts in various alumni gigs-- it's fun & loud.

So what? Doesn't matter...they ain't SCV, and SCV ain't Cadets. To Cadets' credit, all they do is change their name every few years. It would be interesting to read some thoughts from folks who marched the Red Team after 1992 to get their take, as they witnessed a number of ED changes. When I saw the Quarterfinals cinecast this year, heard the brass problems on the big screen then read the recap the following morning, I knew heads were going to roll on the brass side of the ledger after Saturday. Speaking from experience, I think that the kids would respond very well to someone like Rick South being a part of the brass program again; I know Rick is in different phase of life, but dang--- what an opportunity.

If I ever meet that bari player in real life I'm going to buy him a beer. Loss of interval or not, that IMO is still one of the best field camera shots ever shown on a DCI Legacy DVD; he planted and made the turn so hard, you could hear the air rush into the vacuum he left behind.

Let's not forget that successful corps help write the formula judges judge to. ;)

I was thinking about this on the ride home from Allentown PA during my 6500+ mile Lap of America trip I just took on my motorcycle...I don't wear ear buds or listen to music when I ride, so I found myself mentally rehearsing all the music for Freelancers Alumni Corps since I'm heading to DCA, and kept cycling back to YPG. It's now been over 30 years since SCV has done Young Person's Guide, and I could see a whole show structured around it. I agree with Bruckner8 about the T-land push; between the two I for one very much disliked the '85 version not only from a musical standpoint, but the drill was weak too even though Vince Noble and I landed a camera closeup. To this day I still can't believe we won Visual that night; I would rather have won (or tied for) Brass. Sam-- Thanks to you, after years & years I finally got to "legally" play the lead bari part in Free (on a K-70!) in '07; what a hype!

I'm a little late to the comment party, but I just returned home yesterday from a 6,500 mile motorcycle road trip in which Allentown was one of my destinations. Having seen SCV at all the CA shows I was interested to see the difference in PA, so I sought out their horn warmup arc. I noticed some improvement, but not the shocking amount I had hoped for. At one point when they were running bits and pieces of their show, several individuals were starting to overblow and I thought, "Whoa! Easy there guys!" Afterward, they took a few moments and ran through Clowns; it was pretty good. No offense to the current DM, but I sure wish Rick South (or Andriese, or Sierra) were around to give conducting lessons. With regard to "young brass line"...1984 was a very young corps (age 17) and that group still found the moxie to tie two other top programs in brass that year. Yes, different time, different demands, different key...but still, anything is possible, and the sight of the Jim Ott Trophy at the SCV bingo hall occupies a special place in my heart. Finally, a quick comment on the Q-Finals cinecast: I was able to catch the show in Westminster (Denver) on my return trip and the crowd reaction for SCV was very enthusiastic, particularly when the camera focused in on a young lady named Loren in the front ensemble just as she started jamming away. I heard the brass and timing issues and knew SCV had a tall hole to climb, but the crowd was rooting for them nonetheless. By way of contrast, when Devs came on it was silence interrupted by muted golf claps; then again, it was tough to follow Cavs, Cadets and especially Crown. In our theater, Crown was by far the crowd favorite, with comments like, "LOOK how much FUN they're having out there!" permeating the audience.

Simple-- I have a life outside of DC; I don't average 1,000 posts on DCP annually, I don't follow YEA, nor are the Cadets the center of my universe.

I read the title to this thread and suddenly had a vision of Jim Lange asking this question to a contestant on The Dating Game ("...Bachelor #1, or Bachelor #2?") Mental Note: Stop eating a bowl of Quisp cereal as a midnight snack...

I'm sorry to read how the hole came about, but as far as a replacement goes-- isn't that what the Crossmen are for?

Sorry, I was attempting to comment on the "won't do ball pivot hip changes again and that's okay by me" portion.

Glad you like it but it rubs me the wrong way...I also don't like the Cavie "sit & lean" backward technique either as the MMs "shrink" in height.

Put enough air velocity (hence mass) through a horn and you'll get your edge. Incorrect. About the only thing accurate here is that they are different instruments, and that "trumpet" and "sop" begin with a consonant.

Thanks--- I've actually been on this board for a number of years, but forgot my old screen name and log in so I had to create a new one in '09. I figured if I used my son's first name (Tracer) as my new ID I couldn't possibly forget it again.

Two reasons: (1) Drugs and alcohol. (2) In the movie Star Trek IV, "reborn" Spock determines that the probe destroying Earth is really just trying to communicate with whales. To illustrate his theory, he channels the probes' sounds through the Enterprise's speakers and adds an audio filter simulating the density of water-- presto, the probe sounds just like a whale, and Kirk & Company set off for Humpback Whale Depot. Applying this metaphorically to the current use of T-Goo, the gluteus maximus muscles are the audio filter, and the staff's ears are planted firmly between them-- presto, it sounds "normal".

An even simpler solution would be for corps to loosen half the fasteners on their golf carts they use to tow/haul all that stuff in.

Former marching instructor who shall remain nameless: "Who feels strong today?" Eager hands go up, person is selected...3rd year vet...he stands up... Instructor walks right up and gets in his face: "Do you feel strong, (name of member)?!?" Member: "Yes sir!" Folks who marched that year know what happened next.

This forum isn't intended to be a Cotillion class, but could you show any less respect to someone with over 50 years of love wrapped up in our activity?

I smile whenever I see the term "baton twirler"...we had one in SCV '85 which we used to great effect. Seeing as we have ensemble body movement and dancing hornlines, I'd like to see more guards "change roles", pick up brass instruments (a trick used by a few corps in the past) and help 80+ member hornlines play above a forte once in a while.

Sure you can, just think outside the box: set up a large decibel meter on the front sideline behind the pit and point its mic toward the field-- the higher the reading, the more points you accumulate. Points would be deducted for cheating by turning up your pit amps.

Ron, We met at the Stanford show in the ticket line; I was up there to perform with FAC. Having seen both the Northern & So Cal shows, my short & simple answer is this: BK is entertainment because they play famous wind ensemble music most musicians have either heard or performed at one time or another in middle or high school, and they play it loud. A lot. And in a good way. To be fair and balanced, I should also mention BK marches well and the Scottish tenor feature is fantastic. Back to the loud part, they do two complete pushes at high volume, which is a welcome departure from the usual: "PLAY ATONAL Z# AUGMENTED 14th WHOLE NOOOOTE WHILE RUNNING AT 190...!!" / (requisite drum gahks & tenor fill for four counts & Running Hornline not starring an Austrian bodybuilder) / "PLAY ANOTHER ATONAL Qb DIMINISHED 12th WHOLE NOOOOOTE....!!!" / (Monkey Drumming ensues for 4 more counts while the Running Hornline ups the ante with two near misses and one collision) / "PLAY CHORD RESOLUTION WHICH WOULD BE A WHOLE LOT LOUDER ON G's BUT WE WON'T BEAT A DEAD HORSE THEEEERRRRREEE...!!!" Or something similar thereto.

Are you saying that it is inappropriate to react to impact points in a show? E.G., Cadets 2000 killer tenor feature: crickets, owls... ?

New poll: Best 17th place show from 1972-2010 but excluding 1983.

When we did the Rose Parade in '04 long-time KTLA Channel 5 announcer Stephanie Edwards ignored the script and educated millions of viewers that SCV "...is associated with Santa Clara University..." even as our banner passed by on closeup. The next year KTLA kicked her out of the booth where she had worked alongside Bob Eubanks for a gazillion years and instead had her do curbside / "man on the street" duty, and it was clear she was spaced out on meds whenever the camera cut to her. When we did the unexpected horn pop to the spectators in the camera area their eyes got as big as dinner plates, which helped offset the annoying kids sitting on the curb that were shooting Silly String onto our shoes. My only regret is that we didn't try out the parade arrangement of RCM that a couple of mid 80's alumni members had put together.

Here is my "quick & dirty" review of Walnut from Section D, Row 21, Seat 1: Academy: This is a great show until they get to the progressive jazz section with body movement at about the 5:00 mark. The show seemed to lose steam & direction at this point, and the kids sounded tired after that. Note: it WAS hot yesterday in the Orange County/Inland Empire area during rehearsal for everyone, but I would think Academy would be used to heat. PC: Where was the dress center command to fix the two diagonals before step off as the corps stood at attention for nearly three minutes?? This show was dirty even before the PA announcer's introduction; were the drum majors called away to help out with the concession stand which was an utter disaster? Phantom: I know the recap reflects differently from upstairs, but it was an off night: low brass stickouts on the ends of forms (gasps from around me)...tear in the ballad...TOO MUCH SYNTH...a number of individuals out of step. SCV: Despite their high guard score, I find the guard feature (where the demons "overwhelm" the main character (portrayed by a horn player who places his horn and Aussie on the 50), then string him out in a pull away from the 50) a bit muddy and confusing versus the slow ballad from the hornline. HOWEVER, the horn player featured in this section goes way beyond body movement and actually dances in accompaniment to the guard. He is quite good; for you guard folks, check out his form when he leaps to the side & mirrors the guard choreography. I heard a spectator behind me say, "Man, that guy can really dance!"; there was a smattering of applause for him at the conclusion of this feature. The drumline marched a few holes (there were only three tenors and 4 plates) but still sounded amazing, which elicited more gasps from the high school kids seated in the section to my left. The new Vanguard yell occurs at a good place in the show and will get better as the season wears on. BD: The soloists were off last night, and at one point the synth & amps drowned out the nifty tenor feature taking place on the 50. The snares had a tough time with their "strut & play" feature which was dirty, and I am not a fan the University of Monkey Drumming technique. BD plays loud, but then again so does BK who unfortunately was not on this leg of the tour. General comment for all corps: turn down the synths!!